Artem Case Studies

The Day Hitler Died Finestripe Productions

“We set about filming Hitler and Eva Braun’s funeral pyre with some trepidation as our eyewitness accounts were so vivid, and would involve a fire and explosions. When we engaged Artem all our anxieties subsided. Mike and his team worked with the director, crew and actors to deliver first class pyrotechnics and special effects in a safe and controlled manner. I look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Lorraine McKechnie, Producer

The Day Hitler Died is the definitive story of Hitler's final hours, told for the first time by people who were there. Within the small area of an old dock in the centre of Glasgow, Artem was asked to create the atmosphere of Berlin under fire for the reconstructed scene of Hitler’s cremation.

To achieve this, Artem surrounded the dock with smoke both to give atmosphere and to help hide the background, and provided pyrotechnic effects for an exploding shell in the foreground while a safe and controlled fire was lit by an actor throwing a burning rag onto the prop bodies. They were burnt using a mixture of liquid fuel and gas to control and extend the effect.